Rotary pickling machine



Jan. 10, 1933. F. .J. WOOD 1,894,141

ROTARY PICKLING MAGHINE Filed Nov. 7. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan.'1'0, 1933. v F. J. WOOD ROTARY PICKLING MACHINE Filed Nov. 7. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 10, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFica FRANK J. WOOD, OF MOUNT LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TO MESTA MACHINE COMPANY, OF IITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA ROTARY PICKLIN G MACHINE Application filed November pspider is elevated by a plunger; and the spider is then rotated until the loaded basket registers with a pickling vat. The plunger is then lowered to submerge the articles in the acid; and while the articles are thus submerged, the plunger is reciprocated vertically to souse the articles in the pickling llqlllCl. The plunger is then raised to elevate the spider; and when the basket or the like 1s free of the vat, the spider is rotated to bring the basket to another station about the machine. There are a plurality of these stations; and in accordance with a common arrangement, there is a single loading station, two pickling vats and a washing vat, constituting in all four stations. The number of each may obviously be varied to provide the particular conditions required. My improvement relates to the raising and lowering function of the machine; and since it is applicable to various types of machines having more or less stations than the number above specified, no particularnumber has been shown in the drawings of this application.

.Vith the type of machine disclosed in Patent No. 1,107,821, August 18, 1914, steam is generally employed as the actuating medium for the motor which raises and lowers the spider and-plunger. A supplemental cylinder is also provided for cooperating with the iluzwer to counterbalance a ortion or all.

of the dead load of the machine. Counterbalancing is effected by introducing air under pressure in this supplemental cylinder. There is a field in whi h an all-mechanical machine has considerable advantage. More particularly. in an isolated p ant where high pressure steam is not readily available or where there is no supply of compressed air,

7,1931. Serial No. 573,542.

the type of machine shown in the last menfioned patent cannot be conveniently used. Even though low pressure steam is available, this is not as a rule suitable for raising and lowering the spider and plunger since an iuconvcnicntly large cylinder would have I to be employed where steam under low pressure is all that is available.

One obj cct of my invention is to provide an all-mechanical machine. A further object of my invention is to provide a machine which may be actuated by a single .prime mover, preferably an electric motor. A further object is to cause the reciprocation of the articles being pickled in such a way as to obtain a jarring action which may be varied in intensity to suit the material being pickled.

In the accompanying drawings in which I have shown, not as limiting my invention, one illustrative embodiment which the same may assume,

Fig. 1 is a vertical central section of a pickling and washing machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail central vertical sectional View taken at right angles to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view on line IIIIIT of Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on line IVIV of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the relation of a lost motion connection to the jarring action effected by my improved apparatus.

The articles to be pickled are loaded on baskets 7 which, as illustrated in Fig. 1, are,

suspended from a load-supporting member 8. The pickling and washing machine is generally provided with a plurality of these loadsupporting members, these members together constituting a spider supported for vertical rec procation. After one or more articles have been loaded in a basket 7, the spider is elevated high enough so that the baskets will clear the vats; and then the loaded basket is brought into vertical alinement with a vat 9. The spider is then lowered so that the articles may be soused in the vat. This sousng is brought about by vertically reciprocate ing the spider and I have provided improved mechanism for so doing. After the treatment in the first vat 9 is carried far enough, the spider is elevated and rotated so as to bring the baskets 7 to the next station where it is again lowered. In accordance with my invention, I provide separate mechanisms for raising and lowering the baskets when a change of station is desired, and for sensing the articles in the vat. For the reason that power facilities may be limited, I prefer to embody my invention as an all-mechanical machine, thus rendering the provision of high pressure steam or compressed air unnecessary. In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings but one prime mover is required, the one shown being an electric motor, since electric current as a power medium is almost universally available.

The sensing of the articles involves rapid reci rocation vertically of the spider and, preferably, this reciprocation is accompanied by a jarring action so as to suiiiciently vibrate the articles to shake 01? scale and other adherent matter. The spider is, in accordance with my invention, reciprocated by means of a plunger 10 and is jarred by being abruptly stopped and/or started. This requires a support such as the frame 11, and furthermore a lost motion connection with the actuating means which effects vert'tcal reciprocation. It is optional whether the spider itself comes to rest upon the frame 11 each time the former is reciprocated, or whether the plunger 10 comes to rest, transmitting the jarring thus produced to the spider. In the first instance, there should be a lost motion connection between the spider and plunger 10; and in the second instance, there should be a lost motion connection between the plunger 10 and the actuating means for vertically reciprocating the same. Due to details of other parts of the mechanism of the illustrative embodiment shown in the drawings, it is more convenient in this instance to cause the plunger 10 to come to rest, and to arrange the spider so that it is directly carriedon the upper end of this plunger. As shown in the drawings, a sleeve 12 is splined in the frame 11 so that it may move vertically rela tive thereto. A bronze bushing 13 is mounted in each of the ends of the sleeve 12 so as to provide spaced bearings for the vertical plunger 10. A collar 15 is secured to the plunger 10 adjacent the upper end of the sleeve 12; and in the position shown in Fig. 1, the collar 15 is spaced from the sleeve 12 by a cushioning rubber ring 16. As is clear from the drawings, the actuating means below the plunger 10 is slightly spaced from the latter when the former is at the lower end of its reciprocation. This lost motion connection permits the collar 15 to come to rest on the upper end of the sleeve 12, a shock being transm'tted through the spider to the articles in the vats 9. This causes vibration of these articles,

but to prevent excessive shock to the apparatus, the blow is cushioned by a bumper 16 of some resilient material. The bumper or block 16 may be replaced by others of various he'ghts or thicknesses so as to regulate the intensity of' the jarring action.

The actuating mechanism comprises a vertically reciprocable actuating member 18 in the form of a cross-head sliding in guideways 19. A bumper 20 such as a pad of resilient material on the cross-head 18 is alined with the plunger 10 so as to take up part of the shock when the plunger 10 is engaged to start the elevation of the same. I

As a preferred type of mechanism for reciprocating the cross-head 18, I have provided mechanism which includes a driving member provided with an eccentric portion for transforming rotary movement into reciprocatory motion. A cam and cam follower, an eccentric, and a crank and pitman are all typical examples of this type of mechanism. I have selected for illustration a crank 22 and pitman 23, the crank shaft 24 being journaled in a lower section 25 of the frame 11. This section 25 provides a lubricant chamber which may be filled with lubricant up to the level indicated by the line L. The actuating means for causing reciprocation of the plunger 10, therefore, operates in a bath of lubricant and this mechanism, including the cross-head 18 and pitman 23, are fully lubricated. At the same time this mechanism, as well as the plunger 10 and sleeve 12, are fully protected from any acid or water which may splash out of the vats 9.

From experience in the operation of such machines as that disclosed in Patent No. 1,107,821, it has been found that a considerable part of the force required to lift the spider and baskets is expended in elevating dead weight. This was taken care of in the machine disclosed in the last mentioned patent by the supplemental cylinder which c0- operates with the lower end of the piston rod, this supplemental cylinder being supplied with compressed air. In an all-mechanical machine, the dead weight must be taken care of in some other way; and I have done so by extending the crank shaft 24 through the casing, and have mounted a crank 27 on each end with these added cranks oppositely directed from the crank 22. Each of the cranks 27 carries a pin 28, and from each pin 28 is hung a counter-weight 29. This counter-weight is made up of a plurality of elements so that adjustment may be made for variations in the dead weight. It is apparent that through the arrangement thus provided, the power requirements for reciprocating the vertical plunger 10 are considerably decreased.

For rotating the crank shaft 24, I have provided a motor 30 carried by a pedestal 31 on the frame 11. The armature shaft 32 gear 37 on the crank shaft 24 to drive the latter. It is apparent, therefore, that the motor 30 may be clutched to the worm shaft 36 to drive the crank shaft2 1 and thereby cal movement.

vertically reciprocate the cross-head 18,

The sousing action results from the rapid raising and lowering of the spider from which hang the baskets 7. The rotary motion of the crank shaft 24 is illustrated by the circle of Fig. 5. The lost motion con-' nection between the spider and the actuating means for causing vertical reciprocation of the same is diagrammatically illustrated by the horizontal line a. As the crank moves along the circle 0, there is a point indicated by .p at which the plunger is engaged by the pad on the cross-head 18. The spider now rises as the crank 22 continues through its cycle. As the spider nears the bottom of its stroke, the collar and ring 15, 16 come to rest against the upper end of the sleeve 12, the'point in question being indicated in the diagram by p. The crank continues through its cycle; but due to the lost motion.

connection, the spider rests stationary while the crank is below the line a. If the space of the lost motion connection is increased, the

linen is lifted relative to the center of the circle 0, and it is apparent that, at the time the plunger 10 is engaged, a larger component of the movement of the crank 22 is verti- If, therefore,'the crank shaft 24: is rotating at a uniform rate, a greater jar is imparted to the spider and the baskets hung therefrom if the space of the lost motion connection is increased. A jar is produced both at the point p (namely, when the plunger 10 is engaged on the upward stroke),

and at the point p (namely, when the sleeve 12 is engaged by the collarand ring 15, 16 on the downward stroke.

When the sousing action has been carried far enough, the operatorcauses the spider to rise high enough so that theibaskets' 7 clear the vats 9. The travel of the crosshead 18 is not sufficient to bring this about. I have accordingly provided mechanism including gearing for elevating the sleeve 12 to a sufficient height for the desired operation. I prefer to employ the same prime mover as the one used for drivingv the crank shaft 24,- as, this simplifies the powerrequirements for the pickling and washing machine.-

On each side of the lower portion of the sleeve 12 is formed a rack 40, and with each rack cooperates a pinion .41. Each pinion 41 is driven from a gear reductionmechanism 42 connected by a clutch 43 to the armature shaft 32 of the motor30. If desired, flexible couplings 4.4 may be inserted between the mechanism 42;:1nd the pinions 11, as illus trated in Figs. 2 and 3. It is apparent, therefore, that by operating the clutch 43, the pinions 41 may be simultaneously driven from the motor so as to elevate the Sleeve 12. When the s ider has been raised high enough, the has ets may be swung to the next station, the mechanism 42 being meanwhile held stationary by a brake or the like. kVhen the baskets 7 are in alignment with the vats 9, the spider may be lowered by lowering the sleeve 12, a shoulder 45 being provided at the upper end of this sleeve for engaging the upper end of the frame 11.

It is apparent that by means of my invention I have provided an all-mechanical machine. This has considerable advantage where high pressure steam and/or compressed air are not available. Moreover, my improved apparatus operates eficiently, since counter-weights are provided for the dead load which must be driven. A further advantage of my machine is that both the instrumentalities for raising and lowering the spider relative to the vats are actuated from a common prime mover. Moreover, by providing the variable lost motion connection between the eccentric mechanism and the spider, a variable bumping or jarring action is effected which causes scale or other adherent material to be shaken off. The operating parts of the elevating and jarring mechanism are protected from acid; and, moreover, the eccentric mechanism operates in a bath of lubricant. It is apparent, there,- fore, that I have provided a highly efiicient mechanism-which, by the use of electricity as the sole actuating medium, may be operated to perform the various functions of a pickling and washing machine for treating metal articles.

While I have illustrated and described one I specific form of eccentric mechanism and a particular arrangement of gearing for elevating the spider; and While the invention is illustrated as applied to one well known type of pickling and washing machine, it will be understood that the invention is not restricted to the particular construction and arrangement shown, but may be variously modified within the contemplation of the in vention and under the scope of the following claims.

I claim 1. In a pickling and washing machine of for vertically reciprocating said article supporting means. I

2. In a pickling and washing machine of the type in which articles to be pickled are soused, a vertical plunger, a load-supporting member carried by said plunger, actuating mechanism for vertically reciprocating said plun er to sense articles supported by said member, gearing'for elevating said lead sup porting member, and a prime mover operatively connected both to said actuating mechanism and to said gearing and constituting common actuating means therefor.

3. In a pickling and washing machine of the type in which articles to be pickled are soused, a vertical plunger, a load-supporting member carried by said plunger, actuatin mechanism for vertically reciprocating sai plunger to sense articles supported by said member, a vertical rack carried by said loadsupporting member, a pinion meshlng with said rack for elevating said load-supporting member, reduction-gearing for driving said pinion. and a prime mover operatively-connected both to said actuating mechanism and to said gearing and constituting common actuating means therefor.

4. In a pickling and washing machine of the type in which articles are lowered and raised relative to a vat or the like, a vertical plunger, a load-supporting member carried by said plunger, eccentric mechanism for vertically reciprocating said plunger to souse articles supported by said member, mechanism of the rack and pinion type for elevating said load supporting member and plunger, a prime mover constituting common actuating means for both said mechanisms, and operative driving connections comprising a clutch between said common actuating means and each mechanism.

5. In a pickling and washin machine of the type in which articles are pikled by sousing, a load-supporting member and means for vertically reciprocating said load supporting member comprising a plunger and a vertically reciprocable actuating member, said means including a lost motion connection for causing jarring of said load supportmgmember. 6. In a pickling and washingmachine of the type in which articles are pickled by sousing, a load-supporting member and means for reciprocatingand jarring said load-supporting member comprising a support, a plunger reciprocable vertically relative to said support, andmechanism for vertically reciprocating said plunger, said means comprising a lost motion connection whereby said member is brought to rest on said support in each cycle of said reciprocating mechanism.

7. In a pickling and washing machine of the type in which articles are pickled by sousing, a vertically reciprocable plunger, '21 loadsupporting member carried by saidplunger,

and mechanism cooperating with said plunger for vertically reciprocating the same, there being a lost motion connection between said mechanism and said plunger.

8. In a pickling and washing machine of the type in which articles are lowered and raised relative to a vat or the like, a vertically reciprocable plunger, a load-supporting member carried by said plunger, crank and pitman mechanism for vertically reciprocating saidplunger, said mechanism comprising a crank shaft having cranks arranged substantially 180 apart, a pitman connected to one of said cranks and a counterwei ht connected to an oppositely disposed crank.

9. In a pickling and washin machine of the type in whicharticles are pidkled by sousing, a support, a load-supporting member, and means cooperating with said support for jarring said load-supporting member comprising a vertically reciprocable actuating member, there being a lost motion connection betweensaid vertical y reciprocable actuating member and said-load-supporting' member.

10. In a pickling and washing machine of the type in which articles are pickled by sousing, a support, a load-supporting member, and means cooperating with said support for 'jarring said load-supporting member comprising a vertically reciprocable actuating member, there being a lost motion connection between said vertically reciprocable actuating member and said load-supporting member, and mechanism for vertically reciprocating said actuating member comprising a rotatable driving member having an eccentric portion and a link connecting said actuating member with the eccentric portion of said driving member.

11. In a pickling and washing machine of the type described, a vat, means for supporting articles to be pickled in the vat, a plurality of instrumentalities for lowering and raising said article supporting means relative to the vat, and a prime mover common to said instrumentalities for actuating the same, one of said instrumentalities comprising a device for elevating the articles clear of the vat, and another of said instrumentalities comprising eccentric mechanism for sousing the articles in the vat.

12. In a pickling and washing machine of the type in which articles to be pickled are soused, a vat, means for supporting articles to be pickled, a support engageable by said supporting means, and a plurality of instrumentalities for lowering and raising said article supporting means relative to the vat, one of said instrumentalitiescomprising a device for elevating the articles clear of the Vat, and another of said instrumentalities. comprising mechanism for reciprocating said article supporting means, there being a lost motion connection between said article supporting means and said reciprocating mechanism permitting engagement of the article supporting means with said support to effect a jarring action. I

13. In a pickling and washing machine of the type in which articlesare lowered and raised relative to a vat or the like, a vertical plunger, a loadsupporting member carried by said plunger, a sleeve surrounding said plunger and engageable thereby to support the same, means for reciprocating the plunger relative to the sleeve, and-means for elevating the sleeve to simultaneously elevate the plunger.

14. In a pickling and washing machine of the type in which articles are lowered and raised relative to a vat or the like, a vertical plunger, a load-supporting member carried by said plunger, a sleeve surrounding said plunger and engageable thereby to'support the same, means for reciprocating the plunger relative to the sleeve, there being a lost motion connection between the plunger and said reciprocating means to permit jarring of the plunger, and means for elevating the sleeve to simultaneously elevate the plunger.

15. In a pickling and washin machine of the type in which articles are pickled-by sousing, a load supporting member and means for vertically reciprocating said load supporting member, said means including a lost. motion connection for causing jarring of said load supporting member, said connection comprising a bumper element disposed for'convenient su stitution to vary the extent of the lost motion. v

16. In a pickling and washing machine of the type in which articles are pickled by sousing, a load supporting member and means for reciprocating and jarring said load supporting member comprising a support, a plunger reciprocable vertically relative to said support, and mechanism for vertically reciproeating said plunger, said means comprising a 10st motion connection including a bumper element disposed for convenient substitution to va the extent of the lost motion.

17 n a pickling and washing machine of the type in which articles are pickled by sousing, a support, a load supportlng member and means cooperating with said support for jarring said oad supporting member comprising a vertically reciprocable actuating member connected by a lost motion connection with said load supporting member, said connection comprising a bumper element disposed for convenient substitution to vary the extent of the lost motion, and eccentric mechanism for vertically reciprocating said actuating member.

. 18. In n pickling and washing machine of the type in which articles are lowered and raised relative to a vat or the like, a vertical lunger, a, load supporting member carried for vertically reciprocating said plunger, said actuating mechanism comprising a rotatable driving member having opposed eccentric portions, one of said eccentric portions being operatively connected to said plunger, and a counterweight hung from the other of said eccentric portions.

19. In a pickling and washing machine of the type in which articles are pickled by sousing, a vertically reciprocable plunger, a load supporting member carried by said plunger, a' cross-head beneath said lunger, and ac tuating mechanism for vertically reciprocat' ing said cross-head comprising a rotatable drivin member having an eccentric portion and a llnk connecting said cross-head and the eccentric portion of said driving member.

20. In a pickling and washing machine of the type described, a vat, means for supporting articles to be pickled, and a plurality of instrumentalities for lowering and raising said article supporting means relative to the vat, one' of said instrumentalities comprising a device for elevating the articles clear of the vat and another of said instrumentalities comprising a cross-head and actuating mechanism for vertically reciprocating said crosshead comprising a rotatable driving member having an eccentric portion and a link connecting said cross-head and the eccentric portion of said driving member.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set in hand. y FRANK J. WOOD.

y said plunger, and actuating mechanism 

